{"id":5529,"date":"2020-04-29T16:25:12","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T16:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/?p=5529"},"modified":"2020-04-29T16:25:12","modified_gmt":"2020-04-29T16:25:12","slug":"developing-a-pandemic-routine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/2020\/04\/29\/developing-a-pandemic-routine\/","title":{"rendered":"Developing a Pandemic Routine"},"content":{"rendered":"

I know I\u2019m not the only one for which time since mid-March hasn\u2019t felt quite real.\u00a0<\/span>The Easter break passed in a dissociative blur<\/span>\u00a0and now it\u2019s appar<\/span>e<\/span>ntly summer term<\/span>?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>It<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s been challenging to get back into the headspace of academic work since I<\/span>‘<\/span>m still\u00a0<\/span>stuck\u00a0<\/span>in the<\/span>\u00a0same<\/span>\u00a0physical space<\/span>\u00a0that I\u2019ve been in for a month<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>But since deadlines don\u2019t stop even though t<\/span>ime isn\u2019t real, I\u2019ve been\u00a0<\/span>slowly clawing my<\/span>\u00a0lockdown<\/span>\u00a0life into something of a routine.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Morning<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

I start most mornings with a run in my local park<\/span>. Running has never been my preferred form of exercise but\u00a0<\/span>being able to get outside and burn off some pent-up energy\u00a0<\/span>helps me cope with spending the rest of the day in my room.\u00a0<\/span>It\u2019s also wonderful to be surrounded by nature for a bit: the ducks and geese at the pond have\u00a0<\/span>been wandering around with<\/span>\u00a0their hatchlings<\/span>\u00a0which always brings a smile to my face<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"duck\"<\/p>\n

A proud parent<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Next up: breakfast<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>day-planning<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>My course is in\u00a0<\/span>its<\/span>\u00a0so-called\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>research methods fortnight<\/span>\u201d where students develop their thesis proposals.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>The pandemic\u00a0<\/span>has of course altered the format, so we now have pre-recorded lectures and prese<\/span>ntations along with\u00a0<\/span>group conference calls.\u00a0<\/span>I<\/span>\u00a0plan which\u00a0<\/span>\u201clive\u201d\u00a0<\/span>sessions to attend\u00a0<\/span>in a way that\u00a0<\/span>fit<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0with my<\/span>\u00a0Zoom calls with my external advisor and<\/span>\u00a0my<\/span>\u00a0other obligations.\u00a0<\/span>Everything ends up<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>in<\/span>\u00a0a<\/span>\u00a0big-picture<\/span>\u00a0list of what I need to get done in the day<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Late morning<\/span>\u00a0–\u00a0<\/span>Early afternoon<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Now I can settle down and ge<\/span>t to work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Whether watching a lecture<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>searching databases,<\/span>\u00a0or reading R documentation,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>everything feeds back into<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>refining my research proposal.\u00a0<\/span>I don\u2019t have a particularly exciting setup: just me<\/span>, in my room, at my desk.<\/span>\u00a0Sometimes I try to\u00a0<\/span>mix it up by sitting in the hallway, but it gets awkward when my roommate\u00a0<\/span>has to<\/span>\u00a0squeeze by to use the bathroom.\u00a0<\/span>I take breaks to stretch and check in with my\u00a0option group<\/span>\u00a0on\u00a0<\/span>Whatsapp<\/span>, which is a ready source of ideas and mutual support<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Late afternoon \u2013 Evening<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

More of the same. I like to give myself a different type of task\u00a0than what I was wor<\/span>king on earlier<\/span>, so that I\u00a0<\/span>can<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>re<\/span>focus. When I get hungry, it’s time to stop for the day. I <\/span>don\u2019t\u00a0<\/span>have set mealtimes anymore and tend to not have a midday meal<\/span>\u00a0because<\/span>, again, time is weird.\u00a0<\/span>But cooking dinner helps me unwind and serves as a signal to myself that I am done with work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigh<\/span>t<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

After dinner is me-time: I catch up with fri<\/span>ends in the US by chat or videocall, keep up my Duolingo streak in Japanese<\/span>, and have plank-offs with my roommate.\u00a0<\/span>I can go to bed in a good mood, ready to do it all again the next day.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I know I\u2019m not the only one for which time since mid-March hasn\u2019t felt quite real.\u00a0The Easter break passed in a dissociative blur\u00a0and now it\u2019s apparently summer term?\u00a0It\u2019s been challenging to get back into the headspace of academic work since I‘m still\u00a0stuck\u00a0in the\u00a0same\u00a0physical space\u00a0that I\u2019ve been in for a month.\u00a0But since deadlines don\u2019t stop even […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1414,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[274465,300890,300911,299433],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-covid-19","category-international-student","category-lockdown","category-masters-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1414"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5529"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5531,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5529\/revisions\/5531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}